Astounded: new alu bike is really comfy!
Bordersroadie
Posts: 1,052
I'm an oldish (48) roadie who has only ever ridden steel (531) bikes. Having got back into it recently after a long absence (pursuing other sports), it was with some reluctance that I bought an aluminium bike, but I figured on my limited budget a well-specced alu bike would be better than a low-rent carbon frame.
Everything I read on forums or otherwise told me to expect the new bike to be a harsh, hard-riding beast, especially on 23c tyres. It's a Cube Streamer by the way, with handbuilt wheels (28/32 DA/OpenPro).
So I finally got the Cube out after riding the old 531 steed all winter, and I was nothing short of astounded! Not just by the fact that I no longer need to reach for the downtube shifters (!!) nor by the wonderfully wider choice of gears, nor by the way that your pedal power is transmitted to the road, but the damn thing is as comfy on our backroads as my old steel frames. Massively surprised.
I realise that the Sportive geometry may have something to do with it, or the super- thin seat stay design, or the 28/32 cross-laced handbuilts, but honestly, it was an unexpected bonus and I thought I'd post a message just as a counterpoint to all the internet stuff out there that tells us that aluminium frames are hard-riding and that carbon is the only way to find comfort for long distance riding.
I'll be using the bike for summer commuting, training and Sportive riding, and I look forward to all three now, more than I thought I would!
Everything I read on forums or otherwise told me to expect the new bike to be a harsh, hard-riding beast, especially on 23c tyres. It's a Cube Streamer by the way, with handbuilt wheels (28/32 DA/OpenPro).
So I finally got the Cube out after riding the old 531 steed all winter, and I was nothing short of astounded! Not just by the fact that I no longer need to reach for the downtube shifters (!!) nor by the wonderfully wider choice of gears, nor by the way that your pedal power is transmitted to the road, but the damn thing is as comfy on our backroads as my old steel frames. Massively surprised.
I realise that the Sportive geometry may have something to do with it, or the super- thin seat stay design, or the 28/32 cross-laced handbuilts, but honestly, it was an unexpected bonus and I thought I'd post a message just as a counterpoint to all the internet stuff out there that tells us that aluminium frames are hard-riding and that carbon is the only way to find comfort for long distance riding.
I'll be using the bike for summer commuting, training and Sportive riding, and I look forward to all three now, more than I thought I would!
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I've liberated my Principia RS6 off the turbo and been riding it on the road, It rides like an absolute dream and I'd sell one of my carbon bikes before the old faithful black beauty.Tail end Charlie
The above post may contain traces of sarcasm or/and bullsh*t.0 -
Aluminium is a very underrated material. It's what you do with the material that makes the difference.Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
ABCC Cycling Coach0 -
Hello from Canada! Like you, I recently got back into cycling after a 20 year layoff. After riding steel only and hearing how harsh aluminum frames could be back in the late 80's / early 90s, I was a little nervous going aluminum, but I didn't want to break the bank on a carbon frame. I ended up with a Lapierre Audacio 400 - I'm amazed how comfortable a ride it is, and I'm sure the carbon forks help out. Now that I've got the bug again, I've been upgrading the bike to 105 and also picked up a set of Mavic Ksyrium Equipes - while I'd love a higher end bike, this should suit me fine for the next few years...0
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How dare you commit the heresy of saying that aluminium is comfortable!! What kind of forum do you people think this is? We dont use reason or evidence here. The facts are this:
1. Steel is the only'true' material for a bike. Did eddy Merckx ride aluminium? No, and neither should you. Steel is intrinsically superior in every way, especially if it is really expensive and heavy.
2. If you have bought an aluminium bike it is because you are poor, and if you can't afford Rapha get off this forum now and don't come back. You are completely wrong that your bike is comfortable, it isn't. It can't be because it's not steel. Oh, and by the way it will break in the next month, because aluminium doesn't last very long.
3. You may be allowed to ride carbon if its cinelli, colnago, scapin or some other Italian make. That's because Italians are better at operating a resin press than the Taiwanese. And Carbon in Italian bikes is special Italian carbon, it is way more carbonic than inferior asian carbon. Even if the angles are identical an Italian bike will ride better. Thats because the Italians have special proprietary angles that are way more angular than Taiwanese angles.
4. Titanium: you can't afford it you pauper because obviously you only bought an aluminium bike. Titanium is like aluminium except it's greyer. It's a special grey that makes it very expensive. It's so grey you can't paint it. It's also a lot heavier and not as stiff as aluminium. But it's expensive and is so strong that when the sun reaches its end, turns into a red giant and envelops the earth in a superheated helium cloud the earth will melt. The only things left will be titanium frames and they will still be grey.
Now that you understand bike hierarchy you must realize that actually your bike is not, in fact, comfortable.0 -
What hyperbole... Italian bikes are special because.... Um.... They end in a vowel?0
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jehannum5 wrote:How dare you commit the heresy of saying that aluminium is comfortable!! What kind of forum do you people think this is? . . .Now that you understand bike hierarchy you must realize that actually your bike is not, in fact, comfortable.
Brilliant satire, well done sir, a thoroughly good read!
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